To take advantage of opportunities/solve problems, the need for a greater than local/cross-boundary approach can be seen. Regional cooperation is the nominal tool, yet the goal is to be greater; have greater capacity, resources, market,…. Greater is regional; working across boundaries achieves it. Cooperation is possible when people recognize such regional community. This is regional intelligence: Greater Communities solving problems, of which security is foremost; altogether “community motive.”

Dear Readers –

This issue marks five years of this newsletter. When I began in 2003, I decided to give five years to this effort to build an audience for a “regional communities” perspective on regional cooperation. I’ve have learned much and hope you too have gained from this work. Each issue is covers a lot. Yet, there is always more that might have been included. It is designed to be scanned.

Issues for local governments working across boundaries have come to look like global geopolitics, so that perspective has been included. Having quit my day job after 35 years as a regional planner, I am committing to another five years of the newsletter. This is to continue building the database of articles and website links that the newsletter has started, as well as expand with other products.

Sincerely

Tom Christoffel, AICP, Editor

Top Regional Community stories

1.Regional Approaches Have Shown Their Worth- Hartford Courant - United States

Regional solutions can help us provide high-quality, cost-efficient services in Connecticut, while allowing each town to maintain its individual identity and local control. We know this because the regional programs we already have work very well.

At the Capitol Region Council of Governments, our purchasing council has saved municipalities and other agencies millions of dollars by pooling purchasing power and sharing overhead costs. The CAPTAIN Mobile Data Communication System links 80 public safety organizations to local, state and national criminal information files, allowing them to function more effectively while saving money. Under a grant from the Office of Policy and Management, CRCOG is now implementing 10 new "service- sharing" projects aimed at cooperative approaches to various municipal services.

Despite these efforts, we know we are only beginning to leverage the benefits of regional cooperation. So what are some of the reasons for more muscular regional solutions?

…

We recognize that our residents like the direct connection to local government, but there are many areas where towns can work together while retaining that local, small-town feel we all value. To achieve the full benefits of regionalism will require leadership from the state as well as active participation from towns and citizens. We will need the state to use its many tools to support and strengthen regional solutions.

Regional planning organizations need to be strengthened and given the capacity to manage regional efforts where it makes sense for them to do so.

Given the preference for go-it-alone approaches and the relative lack of strong, well-funded regional institutions in Connecticut, the state needs to provide incentives for joint actions by towns acting as regions. This would include both reinstating the Regional Performance Incentive Grant program, having the state "think regional first" and implementing funding for long-term regional solutions.

Authored by Melody Currey, Mayor of East Hartford and Chair of the Capitol Region Council of Governments and Lyle Wray, Executive Director. [ http://www.crcog.org/ ]

The “fiscal stimulus” part of the next president’s agenda means the spending part. Bernanke said the other day that we shouldn’t worry about the Bush deficit—which is at $700 billion and counting, or about five percent of the gross domestic product, which is bigger than at any time since Ronald Reagan was president.

Question: What should we buy?

Answer: stuff that will help us get ready for 2020.

The things that elected leaders buy with government money have a big, ongoing impact on who you buy them for, and where you buy them.

That’s why the Great Lakes states—specifically, the urban regions of Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, and a few other places—need a coordinated federal, state, and local investment in (drum roll please) new sewers.

That’s right. Sewers.

…

Regionalism will have a place at Obama’s policy table, too, because he relies on the calm, centrist, evidence-based analysis of the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Studies Center, which (can you tell by the title?) tends to see economic, social, and governance issues not on a town-by-town basis, but by metro area.

The closest thing we have to metro-wide or regional government around here is county government. So it would be logical that a regional infrastructure issue—such as sewers—should be part of the county legislature’s thinking, even if it’s not party of the Clarence county executive’s thinking.

Think of it. Federal, state, and county elected officials could together act responsibly, investing public funds for the long-term benefit of the environment, and the near-term benefit of the regional economy.

Could it really happen? We’ll see whether November 4 changes local elected officials’ paralysis into action.

In April, when legislators trying to balance the state's budget focused on a two-year-old fund to regionalize local government, few took notice.

"It's defunct now, but I don't think the state and the taxpayers can afford to have it be defunct," said Rep. Terry Hayes, D-Buckfield. "Is it the best way to attack the problem of government spending? I don't know, but what other weapons do we have?"

Hayes is House chairwoman of the state's Intergovernmental Advisory Commission, which was created to encourage cooperation among different levels of government.

The state began collecting money in 2004 to encourage local governments to consolidate some of their operations, diverting a portion of the sales tax revenue normally distributed to local governments. That fund gave out $1.5 million in grants to 40 different groups over two years.

Another 27 grant requests came forward at the beginning this year, seeking the state's help in creating their own money-saving regional groups.

…

In all, local governments throughout Maine were asking for $1.3 million in grants.

But the money was gone, swept up by legislators and Gov. John Baldacci in the hunt for budget-rescuing revenue.

"When the general fund came up short, they were looking for any revenue they could," said Hayes said.

It needs to be returned, Hayes said, or given back to the local communities some other way.

"This became a diversion of the towns' share of sales tax revenue," she said. "I don't think that's what anyone intended. And if it can't be spent for regionalization, it needs to go back to the towns."

She'd rather see it go toward regionalization.

"It's still viable and appropriate to pay for it, even if the funding is somewhat diminished," she said."

The Tech Belt Initiative is an economic development strategy designed to reinvigorate the Cleveland-to-Pittsburgh region (Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburgh) by building on its unique civic, educational, healthcare, and industrial institutions. The transition to a knowledge-based economy has caused opinion leaders from these metropolitan areas to recognize that the future of these once great manufacturing communities are tied together, and that our continued success depends on our ability to collaborate in the creation of new products, technologies, and wealth.

To spearhead this effort, a steering committee, comprised of leadership organizations from Southwest Pennsylvania and Northeast Ohio, is working to develop a strategic vision for this initiative and to build the partnerships necessary to leverage the region's collective resources.

A comprehensive list of the Tech Belt Initiative's goals and actions to be pursued can be found in the white paper titled, "The Tech Belt Initiative; Realizing the Full Economic Potential of theCleveland-Pittsburgh Technology Corridor," which can be downloaded at www.techbelt.org.

Tech Belt's collaborators believe that now is the time to emphasize our regional strengths. A projected economic downturn combined with still struggling regional economies will have an immediate negative impact on both regions; but together as one, the potential for weathering a downturn and promoting mega-region-wide recovery makes this an urgent and timely opportunity for the long-term economic transformation.

Project collaborators, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, and the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber have stepped forward to support and advocate on behalf of the Tech Belt Initiative. ...

5. A REGIONAL WATER UTILITY: BUSINESS-LIKE GOVERNANCE OR A WAY TO DODGE RESPONSIBILITY? - Christopher Leo Blog

Mayor Sam Katz wants to create a regional water utility, to run Winnipeg's sewer and water systems, possibly taking over garbage disposal and recycling as well. The agency would operate independently of city council and, if it wished, market Winnipeg's water to adjacent municipalities.

The agency would set rates for the services it provides, applying to the provincial Public Utilities Board for permission to raise rates. Katz told the Winnipeg Free Press that "Handing this power over to the board would take politics out of the process." Good idea, eh? No more interference in these services from low-life politicians: just good, honest, business-like governance.

… everyone seems to love the idea. The Free Press referred to it as "branching out". In a radio interview, a couple of political leaders in municipalities adjacent to Winnipeg voiced their strong support, and expressed their impatience with nonsensical arguments about sprawl.

Sprawl? Does this have something to do with sprawl? In trying to answer that question, it helps to bear in mind that industrial and commercial development requires the kind of generous and reliable water supply that only a municipal water system can deliver. Already all the municipalities surrounding Winnipeg are able to build their revenues by offering opportunities for residential development at substantially lower tax rates than the ones Winnipeg can offer.

Wouldn't it be nice if those municipalities could compete on similarly favourable terms for the Winnipeg region's industrial and commercial development? Indeed it would, for them. And for Winnipeg?

As it happens, I can draw you a picture of what the regional marketing of Winnipeg's water might hold in store for the city, because there is at least one precedent. After World War II, decision-makers in the thriving city of Detroit thought they had hit on a wonderful opportunity for revenue generation: Market their excellent municipal water supply regionally. In the years that followed, Detroit lost its mainstay, automobile manufacturing, in part to municipalities in the region. Residential and commercial development joined the exodus.

Parish has long argued that, on a per-capita basis, his city is under-represented in council seats.

…

Durham councillors rejected by an 18-to-8 vote his call for a review of representation by 2010, with appropriate changes in place for the 2014 municipal elections.

At minimum, Parish said after the vote, the province should enact legislation requiring a mandatory review of representation in all municipalities every two terms or so.

Parish claimed that because no Durham review has taken place since 1996, his community has been shortchanged politically.

Ajax has one seat on the regional council for every 30,000 voters, while Oshawa has one for every 17,000.

Rural municipalities tend to be extremely well represented, per capita. And the existing discrepancies, he argued, are likely to get worse in coming years.

"It's self-interest," Parish said of status quo defenders. "Power perpetuates power ... The minority has the majority of votes. Why would you give that up?"

Ajax is one of several GTA municipalities whose regional council seats have not caught up with rapid population growth – among them Whitby and Clarington in Durham, Vaughan and Markham in York Region, and Brampton in Peel Region.

When Mississauga and Brampton disputed the issue a few years ago, the province stepped in to rejig the seats.

In Durham, pushback to Parish's motion came from likely quarters. Both Oshawa and rural politicians argued things were fine as is.

Clarington Mayor Jim Abernethy said in his role as a regional councillor, he represents all voters in Durham, not just his municipality.

The Research Triangle Regional Partnership (RTRP) was honored as the first recipient of a new award for regional collaboration by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) at its annual conference in Atlanta.

RTRP is the first recipient of the new IEDC award category, “Excellence in Regionalism and Cross-border Collaboration,” for organizations serving areas with populations exceeding 200,000. IEDC made the announcement today (Oct. 21) during an awards ceremony, a highlight of its four-day conference.

“Economic development efforts have long been a keystone in the quest to bolster the economy and improve the quality of life in every locality across the country,” said IEDC Chair Robin Roberts Krieger. “As the nation continues to tackle longstanding challenges in the midst of an inhospitable financial climate, these efforts have taken on an even greater significance. With the award, we laud trend-setting organizations like the Research Triangle Regional Partnership for leading the charge.”

RTRP was a clear standout in the regionalism and cross-border collaboration category for its regional competitiveness plan, IEDC said. “Staying on Top: Winning the Job Wars of the Future” is a five-year, $5-million plan developed by RTRP, the public-private organization that promotes economic development for the 13-county Research Triangle Region of North Carolina, in partnership with chief executives of leading businesses and major research universities in the region.

The plan outlines 30 strategies to create 100,000 new jobs in targeted clusters and boost employment in all 13 counties in the region, both rural and urban. Key to the success of the “Staying on Top” plan has been the strategic alignment and voluntarily collaboration of hundreds of public, private, academic and nonprofit organizations working with RTRP to implement the plan. They include economic development agencies, chambers of commerce, workforce boards, nonprofits, universities and others whose participation is critical for economic growth. Spring employment data reported 101,000 new jobs were created in the region during the first four years of the five-year plan.

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to provide leadership and excellence in economic development for communities, members and partners. IEDC’s professional economic development awards annually recognize excellence in the economic development profession.

The Research Triangle Regional Partnership (RTRP) is a public/private partnership that promotes economic development for the 13-county Research Triangle Region of North Carolina comprising Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake and Warren counties. For more information, visit www.researchtriangle.org or call (919) 840-7372.

… professor Andrew Sancton of the University of Western Ontario, … The Limits of Boundaries: Why City-regions Cannot be Self-governing, …

Although declaring himself sympathetic to concerns that unresponsive central governments are stifling urban progress, Prof. Sancton punctures "the inflated rhetoric" and "confusions" he finds in the arguments made for greater urban autonomy, in particular those enunciated by "Jane Jacobs and her Toronto followers." The correction is needed, he writes, "if for no other reason than that [such arguments] divert valuable resources to fruitless undertakings, much like searching for the end of the rainbow."

The basic problem such thinking ignores, according to Prof. Sancton, is the reality of unchanging borders. "Boundaries fatally limit the capacity of cities to be self-governing," he writes. Even if it were possible to draw new borders for a modern city state within an existing nation or province - not, according to the author - the urban growth such borders are meant to support would instantly render them obsolete.

From focusing on this one salient omission in conventional thinking about urban autonomy, Prof. Sancton creates a persuasive image of the unbound metropolis. The more dynamic and diverse a city becomes, he argues, the more irrelevant - or even damaging - borders become.

"The main argument of this book is that it is now impossible even to define the outer limits of urban expansion," he writes.

Likewise, it is fruitless to equate city regions or municipalities with sovereign states. Complexity, not clarity, is the natural state of urban governance, according to Prof. Sancton, and the importance of cities is "intimately connected to the fact that they have different boundaries for different purposes, and that these multiple boundaries are themselves constantly in flux and usually expanding."

9. Strengthening of Regions Said Key to Russia’s Survival as a State – Georgian Daily - New York, NY, USA

Russian politicians and commentators have historically viewed power relations between Moscow and the regions as a zero-sum game …

But now some analysts are saying that only by strengthening the regions can Moscow become stronger and the territorial integrity of the country preserved.

And while at least some of the impulse behind such an argument may be a desire to strengthen ethnic Russian regions at the expense of non-Russian republics, its appearance now could affect discussions about federalism under Dmitry Medvedev …

Moscow analyst Sergey Kornyev points out that most Russians who talk about regions and regionalism discuss them in terms of whether they are “harmful or useful” or “necessary or unnecessary.” But it is far more realistic to recognize that in a large country now, they are something that can’t be avoided.

… Russians need to overcome three problems that have infected discussions of regionalism there. First, they need to recognize that regionalist thought in contemporary Russia is still in its infancy with many of its advocates saying things that reflect that lack of development.

Second, Russians need to recognize that regionalism is not “a synonym of separatism” or something that inevitably leads either to that or to the weakening of the state. On the one hand, he argues, regionalism can help block separatism; and on the other, it can if properly managed strengthen the state itself.

And third, Russia must develop its own theory and practice of regionalism given its unique history and geography rather than rely on foreign models be they the European Union, the United States, or any other country. Copying in this field simply will not work, the Moscow analyst concludes.

… “the Russian case” with regard to regional ideas and arrangements is “much closer to the American than to the European. …

10. U.S. Regional Communities - sub-State, State or multi-State - in news articles.

Bold font words are Google search terms. Bold italic words considered worth noting. In this and section 11, links to websites of organizations are added to the news excerpt when this is the first time an organization has been found. A goal of this newsletter is to find every regional council in the U.S. in a news story as well as recognizing other regional organizations. In most cases, where a full name is present, a Google search will quickly get one to that organization. News reports do not always get the organization name correct. Contents

.01Legislature will consider a regional approach to land use

The Oregonian - OregonLive.com - Portland, OR, USA

The "Big Look" land-use task force has recommended allowing more regional control of land-use decisions, including rezoning of unproductive or compromised farm and forest land in limited situations. Conservation groups are worried it will simply lead to more development in rural areas. ...

A sustained economic downturn and drop in revenues could result in the kind of regionalization of services and revenue sharing long advocated by some state legislative leaders. “It’s the only silver lining in the cloud of this economic crunch,” said Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven. ... Staples said regionalization is practiced successfully nationwide, although Connecticut is not looking to impose another layer of county government. “What is going to push cities and towns into this is the enormous cost of municipal services,” Staples said. ...

... Cities like Torrington take pride in their individuality, but using Torrington and other regional commercial centers as the focal point of regional service-sharing could be a great boon to the state. But the state should be careful. If regionalization takes away existing services in the communities that need them most or ends up costing more than it saves, the solution could put the state, and the communities it is made up of in a real bind, one worse than we’re in right now.

Local governments here continue to demonstrate initiative and a willingness to bury old border battles. They are also innovating programs. But, beyond acknowledging the benefits of budgetary cost-cutting under strict property tax freezes, the state of Wisconsin needs to come up with a fair fiscal reward for local governments' creativity, cooperation and results. An extra infusion of state shared revenues and local government aids based on local governments' success in regionalizing and cost-cutting seems like a solution, but who is crafting an actionable proposal in Madison? ...

The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority called Monday for the Legislature to turn the authority into a permanent agency that would oversee all public buses and commuter trains in a three-county region, funded by a sales tax of up to 0.5%. ... Any transit sales tax should replace all property taxes now used for public transit in Milwaukee, Kenosha and eastern Racine counties, ...

In an intemperate letter sent to a number of local officials yesterday, Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway blasted a proposal by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority to ask the Legislature to turn the authority into a permanent agency that would oversee all public buses and commuter trains in a three-county region,... We respect Holloway's concerns about Milwaukee County and transit, but we think his stance on this hurts Milwaukee County and the region. In fact, it is anti-regionalism at its worst.We hope he changes his mind.

Critics who contend that regional planning is tilted too heavily toward the suburbs have a potential solution: Move the planners to Milwaukee. Members of the Milwaukee County Board have joined a growing chorus of those who believe that such change is needed within the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. County supervisors called last week on the planning agency to "establish a meaningful urban presence" by opening an office in Milwaukee. ...

The Atlanta Regional Commission now offers a voluntary environmental certification initiative for which any city in Gwinnettor the county government can apply. Call it the commission's "Green Housekeeping Seal of Approval." The program, launched Oct. 22 by the 10-county commission which serves the metropolitan area, is a way to recognize and encourage local governments in the Atlanta region to become more sustainable by making a few changes in their practices and operations. ...

In his fourth race for Summit County's top engineer position, Democrat Alan Brubaker finally won the title Nov. 4, unseating Republican incumbent Greg Bachman. … As county engineer, he will oversee the county's 200 miles of township roads, 314 waterway bridges, and some storm water drainage functions. The department employs 130 employees operating under an approximately $17 million annual budget. A lifelong resident of Summit County, Brubaker has been a professional engineer for 35 years, including more than 20 years as Kent's city engineer.

In addition to promoting a more regionalized approach to roadway, bridge and storm water drainage issues, Brubaker said he plans to revise departmental staffing.

The vote was the first of its kind since local regionalism advocate Kevin Gaughan began making the case that two elected officials could be removed from every town and village board in Erie County. ...

Members of the I-81 Corridor Coalition met last week in Carlisle and are seeking designation from the US Department of Transportation's second tier of regionally and nationally significant corridors. ... Interstate 81 stretches 824 miles from the Canadian border to Tennessee ...

At a recent meeting arranged by the Life Sciences Greenhouse, Pribanic said she learned of three companies in Ohio that could help to enhance her business. "For entrepreneurs, it can be hard to make connections from region to region," ...

California's high-speed rail system, endorsed by voters on Tuesday, will haul 50 million people and generate a surplus of $1.1 billion annually by 2030, according to a business plan released by the High Speed Rail Authority [ http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/ ] … Also included in the report was a collection of recent regional economic studies that predict that by 2030, 160,000 jobs will be created to build the railroad and 320,000 new permanent jobs will arise in industries such as tourism, transportation and security - by 2030 as a result of the fast train's existence. …

The problem is getting started. Travelers won't use outlying airports until there are convenient and economic options, and airlines don't want to create the options until there is an established customer base. That's where Los Angeles officials have to step in. By capping growth at LAX and encouraging the use of regional airports (other than Long Beach Airport, which is close to its legal maximum), they can create pressure for regionalization. ...

Q: When you first came up with the idea and started proposing it to folks in Western Kentucky and southeastern Illinois and Southwestern Indiana, how many puzzled looks did you get wondering who is this guy from Evansville, and why is he calling me about economic development in the region?

A: We did have some curiosity about the necessity of it, even here in Evansville. Some people said, 'Why should we be looking at Kentucky?' But the fascinating thing was numerous individuals saw beyond their immediate area — they recognized the interdependency that we have.

In a survey conducted by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), several utility executives have begun to express fears that the cancellation of coal-fired power plants and the implementation of carbon reduction policies could make it difficult to deliver power in some regions. ... "The success of climate change initiatives will depend on successful and aggressive regional planning," said James Hoecker, Counsel for WIRES, a trade group, in the report.

The regionalization plan will be spearheaded by a soon-to-be formed non-profit organization called the Pend Oreille Clean Water Association, which will likely be made up of representatives from the five sewer districts and various local leaders. ...

... The board of directors of the PPRTA will review the budget Nov. 12 and hear presentations by the various governments about how they want to spend the tax money. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Dec. 10. If there are no objections, the budget could be approved then. Both meetings will be held at 1:30 pm at the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments' office at 15 S. 7th St.

In recent years, elected officials from Blaine County and local municipalities have met together on a quarterly basis to discuss ways of tackling pressing issues in a regional fashion. But of late, the semi-regular meetings of this group—which some have called a council of governments—have fallen by the wayside. ...

Combine that with his seats on the Wasatch Front Regional Council and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District and "no one is better situated or has more impact on the growth of Salt Lake County than I do," Jensen said....

The Arkansas River which has often divided Fort Smith and Van Buren over the years can now bring the region together, Van Buren Mayor Bob Freeman said Monday during a tour designed to gather support for the development of a regional intermodal authority. ...

.26The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region's New Study On Returning Troops and Military Families...

MarketWatch - USA

A new study by The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region ( www.thecommunityfoundation.org ) of returning troops from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan shows that community-based nonprofit organizations in the Greater Washington region do not have adequate resources to address the critical needs of these troops and their families. ...

Southern Arizona faces an uphill battle in choosing a sustainability future, partly because the region has a high degree of fragmentation of governments, said John Shepard, a deputy director at the Sonoran Institute. ...

.29Google Uses Search to Forecast Regional Flu Outbreaks

Marketing Vox News

Google's philanthropic unit, mined its database for queries about flu-related topics (e.g., thermometer, flu symptoms, muscle aches, chest congestion), then mapped it on top of data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The result? A web tool called Google Flu Trends [ http://www.google.org/flutrends/] that can be used to track flu outbreaks across the 50 states. ... Google claims the tool can detect regional outbreaks of the flu 7-10 days before they are reported by the CDC.

… Monetary and Financial Stability Committee ("MFSC") of the Executives’ Meeting of East Asia-Pacific (EMEAP) Central Banks held a number of special teleconferences to discuss developments in the region. … The Committee agreed that the prevailing crisis has underlined the importance of stepping up regional cooperation in information sharing and joint monitoring of the impact of the evolving global financial crisis on regional economies and the implications for central banks in the region. The Committee reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining monetary and financial stability in the region, which is essential for supporting the health of the region and the global economies.…

"The next decade belongs to the area surrounding Mumbai." This is the new mantra of the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA). At a meeting on Saturday, the "think-tank" meeting decided to give more importance to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) by identifying multi-model corridors across the region. Explaining the idea of "multi-model corridors" MMRDA metropolitan commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad said that since the island city and suburbs of Mumbai are already strapped for space, MMRDA has decided to concentrate on the rest of the metropolitan region. …

Foreign ministers from the new Mediterranean Union struck a deal Tuesday for Barcelona to host the forum's headquarters and for Israel and the Arab League to take part side-by-side. ... France, which championed the Union, hoped that by basing it on modest regional projects, such as cleaning up pollution in the Mediterranean, it would be able to sidestep the trap of regional disputes. ...

Despite the EU's cultivation of inter-regionalism the European model of regional integration is very different from the Asian one. Common institutions, sovereignty sharing, majority voting, a transnational court and supranationality are the main features of the EU's regionalism. ...

... stressed on the need for closer understanding between developing countries through South-South cooperation. “If we can formulate proper policies on regional cooperation it will be a big help,” he said, noting that while ASEAN was progressing well, SAARC had a long way to go. ...

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Ghana on Monday dispatched 24 long-term electoral observers to the 10 regions. Chief Observer on the mission, Mr Nickolay Mladenov, told journalists that 30 more short-term observers would be dispatched to the regions "as we get closer to the elections". The mission is in Ghana at the invitation of the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the December 7 electoral process in accordance with international and regional standards for genuine democratic elections.

... advise the Iskandar Regional Development Authority on how to improve tourism potential. "Iskandar Malaysia should forget about competing and building a 'bigger and better' theme park. "We should develop what Singapore does not have, which is Johor culture, nature reserves and greenery." ...

More attention needs to be paid to increasing the ability of cities and regions to absorb innovation in this way, says a new report from NESTA, the UK’s National Endowment for Science, Technology and Arts. [ http://www.nesta.org.uk/innovation-by-adoption/ ] ...

"One method to deal with climate change is bio-mimicry, where we look at nature and how it does various things, and mimic it," ... "Australia and its desert regions have a massive opportunity to develop an entire green energy economy that is based on solar, wind and geothermal technology." …

The vision urged London Mayor Boris Johnson to revise targets for self-sufficient treatment of waste written in the London Plan. The committee said London Boroughs should be allowed to treat waste at the nearest appropriate location, rather than being forced to manage their waste within rigid regional boundaries. ...

The discordances in three main issues – traffic laws, border control documentation and passport regulations – are blocking crossborder flows and preventingthe East West Economic Corridor from meeting its expectations. ... Brunei, East Timor, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have a lefthand traffic system and therefore have different traffic laws from their neighbors. This fact leads to many difficulties in transportation, trade and tourism in the region. The UK and France, however, have solved this problem effectively....

Under the name of Chinese Taipei, Taiwan has participated in APEC for all but two years of the organization's existence. APEC began as an informal discussion group in 1989, but has since become the Asia Pacific region's top forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment. Taiwan gained full membership in APEC in 1991. Through participation in APEC, the organization's 21 member economies work toward the creation of a barrier-free business environment, investment liberalization and regional peace through cooperation and communication.

... mergers would enable them to be more competitive and enhance their ability to expand regionally and internationally. A steep loss in derivatives at at a major Kuwaiti bank brought the global crisis to the oil-rich state last month....

EARLY next month, I will be addressing a conference about how we can further develop collaboration between Edinburgh and its neighbouring areas to create a stronger city region around Scotland's capital city....

That the Pacific Islands nations were still chasing the chimera of regional solidarity after all these decades have become painfully evident yet again in several incidents in the past couple of months.The one that grabbed the headlines and sparked heated discussions in several forums was the region's shameful failure once again last month to stand solidly behind its candidate for the top regional position in the World Health Organisation. . ... There is much to learn from the experience of the Caribbean islands nations as seen from the presentation of their representative at the Samoa conference. The governments there are way ahead of their counterparts here in making regional cooperation work especially in the area of business, travel and trade despite their many differences. ...

Inaugurated in 2003, the Unsung Heroes regional programme is FirstCaribbean’s flagship corporate social responsibility initiative which has contributed millions of dollars in funding for worthwhile community projects ...

As Keynes tellingly reminded us “there is no such thing as liquidity... for the community as a whole”. And that means that there may be no automatic barrier to the slide into depression, unless a government intervenes to offset extreme reluctance to lend by huge injections of cash into the economy. This is exactly what world governments have been doing, in defiance of the contemporary theory that tells them that the huge mispricing of debt which provoked the present meltdown is impossible. ...

For the past 20 years, I have been involved in encouraging regionalism. When we started the Business Journal, the name was the Blue Ridge Regional Business Journal. We dropped Regional later because it was cumbersome, but you get the idea. Our notion of the region was the TRADE REGION: Greater Lynchburg, New River Valley and Roanoke Valley. …

“Because we’re far less urbanized, it’s an easy assumption to make that we’re a predominantly white community,” said Prince William Supervisor Martin E. Nohe (R-Coles), who attended Billingsley’s presentation at a recent meeting of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. “But my hope is that people will recognize that our community has changed, and I think the change we’re experiencing is a positive one.”...

Milwaukee and the region deserve something better than the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. SEWRPC, the special interest / suburban handmaiden, is up for recertification as the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization ...

To better reflect on the ground reality, Canada could be redrawn into seven natural territories, and, with virtually no “shoe horning”, 15 natural regions in each of the seven territories. All territories and most regions would be based on watersheds. Where the rivers are too long, two or more regions would share a watershed. There would be no territorial or regional governments. ...

Henrico County has spurned one of the worst public policy ideas in Richmond history: creation of a regional transportation authority to fund regional transportation improvements. Not entirely for the right reasons, mind you. ... Here's the real problem with the transportation authority: To be effective, a regional transportation authority needs to synchronize transportation improvements with land use policies. If a regional authority makes transportation investment decisions in a land-use vacuum, it won't do any better job than the state does. …

Over 40 years ago Oneida County made the first "regionalization" effort in Greater Utica by forming the Oneida County Sewer District to serve 12 area municipalities. ... Since the vast bulk of the population lived in Utica, Utica residents paid for most of the cost of this system. In effect, Utica residents were financing suburban growth while encouraging the rotting of their city from within. ...

The response to the creative cities thesis amongst urban policymaking communities around the world has bordered on the ecstatic. Florida's ideas have been picked up by mayors, regional development agencies, policy entrepreneurs, advisors, and consultants across the United States, Europe, Australasia, and parts of Asia, both in wannabe locations at the bottom of his creative league tables (which are now available in numerous countries) and in established centres like London, Toronto, and Melbourne. This "fast policy" success story may be attributable less to the revolutionary or transformative nature of the Florida thesis itself, more to its character as a minimally disruptive "soft neoliberal" fix. ... Michigan's recently enacted Cool Cities program, derived directly from the creativity playbook, retasks state funds to the goal of localized gentrification, hipster-style, in the hope that this will attract the creative class.

But the group thought it important to get involved, at a time when regionalism is at the front of everyone’s mind. “Geographically, we’re close to Pittsburgh, but sometimes it feels like we might as well be on another planet,” he said. “Anything that brings us closer to being part of that region, we want to be a part of.” ...

The preliminary findings of a study commissioned by the Assembly of European Regions (AER) and conducted by BAK Basel Economics suggest that it does.“The study has already uncovered trends suggesting that more autonomous regions enjoy higher levels of research and development, university output, registered patents and economic productivity, ...

Taking note of these developments and supporting the willingness of the Member States to devise and implement "people-centered short- to medium-term Regional Strategy and Collaborative Projects" for ensuring food security in the region, as well as the decisions made for the operationalization of the SAARC Food Bank, ...

The idea of six mega-regions is mentioned. The notion of creating a number of mega-regions (in Sweden) does not stand on sound basis. These mega-regions, in which local democracy is but an empty phrase, have little in common with regions in the current sense. ...

A bioregional association is an association of the residents of a natural and identifiable region. This region is sometimes defined by a watershed, sometimes by remnant or existing tribal or language boundaries, at times by town boundaries, suburban streets, or districts, and at times by some combination of the above factors. Many people identify with their local region or neighborhood and know its boundaries. …

Indeed, like her, I too am very jealous of the Americans. When will we have a moment like this? When will our politicians talk in this refined tongue? When will they talk of unity instead of regionalism/religion? When will we redeem ourselves?

After irrational violence was witnessed on the name of caste and then religion, a new demon is slowly rearing its head amidst the country’s population. This is regionalism, where the people are fighting over opportunities based on origin in terms of state and not country. The first state to be hit it seems, is Maharashtra

A blog on transportation, urban planning, environment, and other issues that affect the livability of the South of Fraser region in Southern BC, the Pacific Northwest, and the rest of the world (sometimes.)

4. Local, regional and senior levels of government need to work as partners in the achievement of important shared regional and inter-regional transit objectives; ....

Have you seen the latest furor in the news due to the politics of regionalism? It isn’t something new as we all have been used to something of this sort over our lifespan. I am gonna make a very controversial statement here. ...

.17Flemish parliament angers other Belgian regions by demanding its own top-level domain

ACT

According to the Register, “[t]he detente between Belgium's fractious regions is under strain again after the Flemish parliament demanded its own top-level domain. Instead of .be it wants vla, .vln, .vlaanderen or .fla. ...

The challenge for central and regional Government is to create the conditions which foster female-owned business start-up and growth, and so, contribute strongly to local, regional and national economies. Currently, women remain half as likely as men to start a business and just 16% of UK businesses are female-owned....

"One of the unique features of this downturn is how broad-based it is, regionally." What happened between March and today? "The job market has eroded measurably and industrial production has weakened sharply in the last couple of months ...

The "county seat" town churches are doing better, but even they feel the changes. Some have become regional churches for the surrounding areas. In fact, there are some notable exceptions to the general rule that rural churches are failing. In one Arkansas town that you have likely never heard of, there were 900 attending the largest church on Sunday mornings. The more remote rural churches have yielded their younger families over to these active centers which often carry on vibrant ministries. Regionalization is definitely a trend. We could call it the "Walmartization" of the rural church. ...

Geospatial intelligence (GEOINT)–GEOINT is defined as “the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess, and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. Geospatial intelligence consists of imagery, imagery intelligence, and geospatial information.”

“By taking a seat on the Regional Council of Economic Advisors, I can make sure that Herefordshire’s voice is heard at regional and national level, which is even more vital during this time of economic uncertainty”. ...

Willis says Gympie Regional Council dog control officers continued to use the 22 point checklist, the same test that misidentified Rusty in Redcliffe: even after Councils own legal form King and Company alerted them and other Qld Councils to its inherent problems in 2006 ...

.24Clean water should be foundation of emerging regions' development, jurors say

Norman Transcript - Norman, OK, USA

... Water Technologies for Emerging Regions (WaTER) Center at OU. The research center at OU is dedicated tohelping solve drinking water challenges in impoverished areas. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water and 2.6 billion have inadequate sanitation. ...

Obama: The regional fishery-management councils were established as a unique test of federal-stakeholder co-management. As such, they serve a critical role in designing fishery-management plans that are regionally and fishery appropriate, as well as fair to the various industry participants. ...

What does this mean for us in the modern world?In rural communities, it means giving to your neighbors, who may be people you've known all your life anyway. ... In urban areas, the challenge is even greater: it means giving to people you may not currently know— like the people who live next door.They may not look like you.They may not think like you.They may not even speak the same language.But that's the challenge of community values: we are all one family.

... nauseating display of nationalism this election cycle has brought into most of our lives. Wikipedia has a good article about Kauffman. Also see this lecture, “Restoring American Regionalism,” from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

Nonetheless, there is a real and palpable relapse to what is tantamount to “nation-state centrism”, as the thin veil globalization and regionalization is being stripped out and shredded to pieces by the forces of the neoliberal crisis. ...

A quick look at the anger that consumers expressed when Old Dominion beer closed doors recently underlines the sense of regionalism and authenticity that today's beer drinkers seem to demand. A name like "Banquet Beer"...is also an example of smartly revamping a brand name that is starting to get rusty. Making the brand name new by making it a classic is a tried and true formula ...

“Global Harbors: A Waterfront Renaissance” is a 60-minute documentary about an international phenomenon. It's the story of how the redevelopment of the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore transformed an abandoned, blighted waterfront into a world-renowned cultural and entertainment destination, becoming a model for other cities across the U.S. and around the World. …

The story begins in the 1950's, when container ships replaced the traditional types of ocean-going vessels and caused the abandonment of old ports all over the Globe, leaving an industrial wasteland that cut the city centers off from their historical birthplace at the harbor.

In cities like Baltimore, Sydney and Rotterdam, the port's decline was accelerated by the flight of residents and businesses from the central city, due to the availability of post-war suburban housing and accessibility on a regional highway system. The economic value of downtown property went into a radical decline, threatening the central city with municipal bankruptcy.

The Chesapeake Stormwater Network advocates for reform of federal, state and local laws, permits, regulations and design manuals to promote more sustainable stormwater management in the Chesapeake Bay. The interactive network aligns and integrates the efforts of thousands of individuals working on the stormwater problem across the Bay. …

The Solutions are Here

Effective standards, practices and programs do exist that could solve the stormwater problem today. These are termedsustainable stormwater practices, and include environmental site design, low impact development, stream buffers, land conservation and enhanced stormwater and erosion practices. Regrettably, progress toward implementing sustainable stormwater practices has been painfully slow throughout much of the Bay watershed. The Network will link progressive individuals to work together to dramatically speed up the pace of implementation of sustainable stormwater practices on the ground within the next three years. Find out whats happening Baywide, in your state, or nationally.

How You Can Help the Network

The simple answer is to join the network and encourage your engineering, planning, research and advocacy colleagues to do the same. As an individual network member, you will receive free technical assistance, resources, state-wide stormwater alerts and advocacy resources. More importantly, you will be asked to share information on effective practices and programs, provide peer review on innovative practices, weigh in on critical stormwater legislation and regulations, participate in state and regional stormwater surveys, and help spread the sustainable stormwater message in your community.

.04The New Exploration: A Philosophy of Regional Planning - By Benton MacKaye

Reprint of a 1928 work by the originator of the Appalachian Trail and later a founder of The Wilderness Society--features ad a "long-lost classic" by the "New Yorker in 1989 in a series on controlling growth and preserving the environment. Reissued, with the 1962 introduction by social critic Lewis Mumford and a new foreword by David N. Startzell, executive director of the Appalachian Trail conference since 1986. Published by University of Illinois Press, 1991.

.05Fundamentals of Foresight is a free series of quick briefings on how you can better prepare for a changing world. Ten weekly e-mails from World Future Society [http://wfs.org/] President Tim Mack explain major futuring tools such as scanning, visioning, scenarios, wild cards, and more. To sign up send an e-mail to: jcornish-376589@autocontactor.com

.06Atlanta Regional Commission News Stories

Atlanta Journal-Constitution news stories about the Atlanta Regional Commission and related topics on a dedicated website page at ajc.com.

To search on topics like those in Regional Community Development News use this custom search engine which utilizes regional related sites. Entering the term future returned358items; foresight returned314items. Please recommend links for inclusion.

My name is Tom Christoffel. I've worked in the field of intergovernmental cooperation since 1973. As a consequence, "I see regions work. Regional Community Development News is published bi-monthly, as of May 7, 2008, based on news reports as of Wednesday of the publication week. It was published weekly through April 23, 2008. At the start, it was twice-weekly.

Making visible analysis and actions at multi-jurisdictional regional scales is its purpose. "Think globally, act locally" was innovative in its time. Today the local scale is often too small to address today's needs and opportunities. "Think local planet, act regionally,” is my candidate paradigm. No one said we're only allowed one paradigm.

We can see that “regional communities” are organized locally and now act both to avoid tragedy in the commons and gain benefits. An effective multi-jurisdictional regional community has DNA. It is geographically Defined; has a common Name and its Alignment is inclusive of smaller communities and participatory in larger communities. So, by scanning this compilation, reading articles and checking organizations - you too will be able to see the regional communities that already exist.

News references are found using the Google News search service. Media article links are “fair use” to transform globally scattered reports to make regional approaches visible. Links go to the publisher and do not compete with it. Such publishers are likely to have related stories and thus be seen by new customers. “Regional” is an emerging news category. There is no charge for this service and no profit is made from its use, though any user can become more aware of the topic itself.

The system is based on a geocode scheme set up for earth that focuses on established political boundaries as a basis for regional grouping of nations, states and localities. It is decimal system based to take advantage of the sort criteria for numbers in computers. It utilized the Sector Group and Region codes of the United Nations and ISO. Geographic information system technology does not solve the problem, but its tools can be used with the geocodes.

The geocode system effectively organizes Wikipedia entries as a library management and the geocodes can be used for data aggregation. This has been developed under a Creative Commons license and would benefit from a global network implementation where local users cooperatively related subnational geographic regions and component political geography.

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Earth ( we know its a spherical whole)

Humanity's Local Planet

Universe Man at the Boundary

Local Planet - Regional Space

Our Local Planet has systems of Political Geographies which combine as Regional/Greater Communities

Universe Man's place on earth is local and regional silmultaneously depending upon the system of regions, sub-regions of the planet as local wholes: continents, nations, states, provinces, districts, counties, shires, municipalities. etc., which have local regions within and between them which are capable of being greater communities at many scales.

Based on my experience as a regional planner and agency director, 1973 -2008, and in recognition of emerging "regional communities," I developed three thoughts about community that relate to the challenge of working across-boundaries as greater or regional communities. The thoughts/theses apply for communities at the scale of bonding or bridging social capital as defined by Robert D. Putnam, which is alternately local or regional. (link below)

As of 2011, considering the global financial crisis brought about by pursuit of the "profit motive," it struck me that this has come to dominate modern life. This is a relatively new invention of civilization and wasn't a concern for most of the time that homo sapiens has been on the planet.

The three thoughts below that had emerged in my experience of working on regional cooperation now represent what I now posit as the "community motive." Concern about "profit" can emerge within an established community over time, but, to my mind the "profit motive" does not exist in the wild.

1) Community precedes cooperation.2) Community is how life solves all problems.3) Security is the primary purpose of community.

These three thoughts, theses if you will, are the basis of the "community motive." Following is some exposition about each one.

As I see it, security has always been the priority for humans since the plains of Africa. That's why communities first seek to establish defensible boundaries. After the basics are in place, security focus shifts to the social and economic. Boundaries work like the membrane in the osmosis experiment most of us have seen in a science class. The membrane is a filter that lets the good things pass through, but keeps unwanted things out. (Osmosis -YouTube - 45 sec.)

The evolved political boundaries of today have consequence. The rules change when you cross them. Though marked on the ground and fortified in some instances, they are conceptual, as pictured above, with Universe Man. The boundary divides the space between local, that within, and regional, everything outside, as labeled in the second panel. The third panel repeats the image within, to show, without graphic elegance, that the land on which Universe Man sits is regional at another scale, as determined by other boundaries, and another area that's local. A territory is both local and regional, depending upon the perspective.

Communities of communities, “regional communities” are greater communities organized to solve a problem, be it managing a watershed, strengthening an economic cluster or ensuring peer competition for school sports. Regional boundaries can be imposed for administrative purposes within states, but for these to be a basis for effective cooperation, a greater community sense is needed for that geography among the people. This is true for multi-state and multi-national regional communities as well. The leaders with such a vision can build a regional community by finding that which is already in place.

This is not to suggest that community is easy to build in order to solve problems. In a crisis, humans of any culture, belief or politics can quickly come together and self-organize to save themselves and others. It was the on-the- ground response to the 9/11 attacks that demonstrated to me the deep responsiveness of human community, as well as the fundamental importance of security. Community is how humans have always survived. This, I think, extends to all life forms.